


Forging Iron

by HalloweenEvaa



Series: In The Forge 'Verse [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Tony Stark, BAMF Tony Stark, Blatant Overuse of Commas, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Female Tony Stark, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), God Tony Stark, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Takes Over the World, actually everything that might be triggering is warned about in the author note, but you can skip that bit if you want, for a magic ritual, no beta we die like men, specific to each chapter and with where to skip from/to, this gets dark not gonna lie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2020-02-28 15:22:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18759118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalloweenEvaa/pseuds/HalloweenEvaa
Summary: Antonia Margaret Stark was born on a dark day to a father who hated her and an apathetic mother.She died the same day Maria handed her to Jarvis and forgot about her.But Toni Stark was built on her ashes.orIn which Toni Stark becomes a goddess, takes over the world, and eats shwarma, not necessarily in that order.





	1. And So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, I started writing this late at night. And promptly wrote a thousand words then passed out.  
> Many thanks to my friend Woof. Without whom this fic would be worse. As well as MistbornHero who inspired the title!  
> No beta, all mistakes are mine, etc.
> 
> So, without further ado here is chapter one.

Antonia Margaret Stark was born on a dark day to a father who hated her and an apathetic mother. The world gifted her no love when she was tossed from her mother's arms and into Jarvis’s. Her mother who could never give Antonia the love that might have nudged her daughter out of the arms of a cold cruel fate. Her father who expected a _boy._ Someone to shape into another him, to take over SI. Her father who hurt and hated her for daring to be born a girl. But _Toni_ Stark was built _strong._ She was born into an all-to-cruel world and she has always been strong. She cut her teeth on violence, on Howard’s fists and Maria’s stinging dismissal. She has been cut and killed so many times that now, _ now _ she simply licks the blood off her lips and _smiles._

 

Antonia Margaret Stark was born on a dark day to a father who hated her and an apathetic mother. She died the same day Maria handed her to Jarvis and returned to her shallow socialite lifestyle. Kept dying while Howard smashed her first circuit board. The young hopelessly _naive_ trusting child who might-have-been simply disappeared altogether when Maria _looked_ at her for once, only to use her as a prop for good press. Died while Jarvis taught her how to hide bruises under layers of clothing and make-up. But Toni Stark was built on her ashes. Toni who watched Howard break the circuit board and built another, better than the first. Toni who built and builtandbuilt until she could do it better than him. Toni Stark who learned Maria’s game of light and shadow until she too could manipulate the spotlight. Toni Stark learned how to let them see what they wanted and think it was their idea. It was Toni Stark who decided that Jarvis was her family. Her first _person_ . Toni Stark who _made_ herself. Who shaped and molded and forged herself into a **_goddess._ **

~~~~~~

 

Toni Stark is seven when she comes home with a bloody nose Jarvis is positive _didn’t_ come from Howard. Jarvis is livid that someone has hurt ~~His, Howard’s~~ The little girl. (She belongs only to herself after all.) He _knows_ Howard won't help. Howard, who had stopped being Sir the second he abandoned this precious girl in his arms. Jarvis cannot save the girl from this house of horrors, not when Howard has enough of a pull to send him behind bars. Not for love of the girl, simply because he can’t let a stolen child mar his spotless reputation. Jarvis ~~won’t~~ can’t leave the young miss alone with that monster.

The rest of the staff are in similar positions, they can do nothing about the cruelty that has crept into the house. (For it is a house now, a home requires a level of _love_ that the cold estate has long since lost.) That does not stop them though, from falling in love with Antonia the moment they get to meet her. Only a few years old and already wandering around, babbling in scientific jargon none of them could hope to understand. ~~_She is her father’s daughter after all_ _._ ~~It does not stop them from hissing Howard’s name the same way one might say a particularly vile curse. It does not stop them from wishing for a way to protect the young miss.

 

Jarvis decides to make a call.

 

Peggy almost doesn’t pick up, sees Howard’s number and almost _almost_ doesn’t answer it.

They haven’t talked in two years after all.

But she answers it. And in the end, it’s not Howard on the other end anyway. It’s Jarvis.

 

“Help. It’s the young miss.”

 

Peggy packs her bags the same day.

 

~~~~~~

 

Peggy is a god in her own right, she had to have been to fight as a woman in a war. Had to become something _more_. Not to fight the battles, not for help killing men, Peggy needed to get into the war first. Peggy Carter is a god of persistence after all. And maybe _that’s_ why she loved Steve Rogers so much. He was above all _persistent_ if nothing else. No one has ever truly seen the way Margaret the helpless young woman, who died alongside her father and brother, has become Peggy the goddess in her own right.

 

So Peggy Carter walks into the house-not-home. She bulldozed her way right past Howard and his irritation ignores Maria and her plastic smiles. Peggy walks past all of it without care nor caution. She remembers the last time she saw Antonia. Her goddaughter was five, she smiled and laughed and played. Now, _Now_ though she sees all too knowing eyes. Sees scarred hands and Peggy. Is. Angry. She hides it though, for now. No use in scaring the poor girl.

 

~~~~~

 

Toni watches. It’s habit she supposes after her years of watching Howard. Howard who is bad and mean. Howard not sir, who would never be her papa. ~~Jarvis who is~~ . Jarvis who bandaged her cuts and scrapes. Jarvis who told her bedtime stories. Jarvis who was more of a father than Howard could ever be. It’s ingrained in her from waiting for Maria to notice her. From watching and trying to _see_ trying to understand her. Trying to impress her enough to get more than just a casual glance. She never succeeded. But Toni _watches._ And now she watches as the woman bursts into the house-not-home. She sees the Steel in her spine and the blood red colored lips and thinks.

_Hello, nice to meet you_ ~~_again for the first time._ ~~

 

The woman ~~walks~~ marches, right towards Toni. Greats her with a warm,

“Hello, Antonia.”

Her voice sounds like ~~Papa’s~~ Jarvis’, softer almost, warm and honied. Utterly unlike the way Howard and Maria spit out harsh sounding words, ones hard enough you could cut yourself on if you’re not careful. Toni would know. She has the scars to prove it. Toni makes a split second calculation then. Squares her shoulders and straightens her spine. And then, with a stubborn jut to her chin corrects the woman.

“Toni. My name is Toni.”

Then Toni smiles, a sharp little thing with too many teeth.  And waits to see what the other woman will do.

~~~~~~

 

And oh, Peggy hadn’t expected that. Any of it. Not the English accent she must have picked up from Jarvis. Definitely not the way the young girl had already started building herself into a god. Hadn’t expected the test most wouldn’t even notice, because the way she had smiled… That was a test. Toni had wanted to know if she would back down. If she was the type of person to avoid sharp edges, or if she would walk along with them. Wanted to know if Peggy would reject this being more  _other_ than girl.

Peggy should know. She had done that herself too many times for her not recognize that test.

 

Peggy doesn’t so much as flinch.

 

Judging by the subtle head nod, she passes. Peggy sees the girl. Young and full of sharp edges and pain. Peggy _knows_ that look. How could she not? She sees it in the mirror every day after all.

 

So Peggy makes a decision.

 

~~~~~

 

A one-week long visit becomes two, becomes a month. Peggy teaches and teaches and teaches.

Toni learns to throw a punch. Devores everything Peggy teaches her and then more. It feels so good to actually learn. She’s leaps and bounds ahead of everyone she’s ever talked to. Her intelligence means she’s never had a chance to learn. And Toni l _earns._ Learns how to fight with ruthless efficiency. She learns to fight dirty because she’s young and small and a _girl_ , and she needs every advantage she can get. Because the Bad Guys of the world aren’t going to go easy on her.

When Toni comes home with bruised knuckles and a sharp, vicious smile fixed in place, Peggy knows the other children won’t be a problem. Knows Toni will be able to defend herself from big kids who hate her for her intelligence. Who hate her for making them feel small and stupid.

It is Peggy who teaches her that if she wants something, she must take it herself. And it is Jarvis who bandages her bleeding knuckles and teaches her how to deal with the teachers. Because they hate her too. They resent her for being too small and having too big a brain. Peggy teaches her the ways of a solder on a battlefield. And Jarvis teaches her to speak like a queen holding court. Teachers her how to silence and stun her enemies into her traps.

 

And Toni _learns._

 

She now talks a thousand miles an hour, but never says anything of importance. Toni is now battle tactics and politics and something uniquely _Toni._ She has contained anarchy. Wherever Toni walks _chaos_ ripples behind her. Toni is smoke and mirrors and she is _built._ Toni wears a thousand different masks now. To the rest of the world, nothing changes. Antonia Stark is Howard’s daughter and the spitting image of Maria. But Toni Stark is Jarvis’s daughter and Peggy’s protege.   

 

Peggy. Who is the one that teaches Toni how to shift and change and become a god.

Gods are made, not born after all.

Peggy teaches Toni how to fight, and Jarvis who teaches when to fight. Together they teach her how to control the chaos.

 

And Toni Stark _is_ chaos. Has been since the day she was born a girl. Has been since she threw a wrench in her parent’s plans. Has been since the day she forged herself.

 

And Toni is almost violence. Might have been without Jarvis’s kind smiles and Ana’s warm cooking and Peggy’s lessons. Might have been if Howard had his way. If Maria had been able to paint her as his pupil. Instead, she becomes chaos, tempered with love.

 

Eventually, though, Peggy has to leave. Has to go home. She leaves Toni with blood red lipstick and newfound godhood. She teaches Toni everything she can in the time they share.

 

And then Toni is alone in the house of horrors. Peggy has left and it’s just her and Jarvis against the cold cruel house-not-home.


	2. Little Birds Learn to Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By Falling From the Nest
> 
>  
> 
> (Idk how to name chapters, send help!)  
> (Or suggestions, those work too!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter Howard’s abuse. Nothing graphic, but if this is something that might trigger you skip from “Tony Stark is twelve” to “she should be dead” keep yourselves safe! This also hits heavily on mental illness (depressive thoughts, etc.) starting from “Toni is ten” to “Toni has been hiding and surviving”. I am not an expert on mental illness and while I’ve done much research if I need to fix something, tell me.  
> NOT A FLUFFY CHAPTER!
> 
> (Also if you're confused, I tweaked a few things from the last chapter. The only big thing is when Peggy gives Toni lipstick.)

Toni is eight when she breaks in a new way. Her mind is a supernova, burning brightly. She looks at things and she can  _ understand  _ them. Her brain whirls around the way they function, picking it apart. That’s been happening since she was a toddler though. Now it's like a dam has broken and she is seeing _everything all_  at once. _  It’s tearing her mind apart _ . She used to fixate on one thing to hold her attention, but now, she sees it  _ all _ .

 

_ And she  _ _ can’t _ _ stop. _

 

Toni knows she is screaming. Knows it the same way she knows the sky is blue and that she bleeds red. It doesn’t register though. The sound of it gets lost somewhere in the chaos Toni is tangled up in. Toni is trapped in a mess of numbers and ideas and she has no escape.

 

Her voice grows horse from the constant agonized scream. She is exhausted, but cannot quiet her mind enough for sleep.

 

~~~~~

 

It’s Jarvis who saves her. 

 

(Of course, it is, he’s always been Toni’s knight in shining armor.)

 

He gently carries her to bed and starts talking softly in his gentle baritone. He tells her tales of dragons and the second heart they guard so jealously. ~~Papa~~ Jarvis weaves stories of self-rescuing princesses who laugh in the face of fate and refuse to let themselves be married off by power-hungry fathers. He tells her of queens exacting justice and laying judgment. His voice anchors Toni until finally,  _ finally, _ she can sleep. 

 

Jarvis orders tools and textbooks for her the same night. 

 

~~~~~

 

It’s not the same, life with an open wound in her chest and a supernova for a mind, but Toni deals. She’s been hurting her whole life for one reason or another. She distracts herself by devouring textbooks faster than Jarvis can find them. When that fails, she spends hours in the small lab beneath her room that Howard doesn’t know about. 

 

Even if all the workshops in the world couldn’t dull the pain of missing Peggy.

~~~~~

 

Aunt Peggy still calls, of course, sends her pictures and gifts and stories. Toni treasures every one. The slender brass knuckles for her eighth birthday, and a small knife on her ninth, on her tenth she gifts her the same blood red lipstick Peggy is always wearing. It feels like a rite of passage. 

But there’s still this  _ gap _ between them. 

Toni doesn’t know what this is called. This gaping hole in her chest. Doesn’t understand why it hurts. Jarvis is the one who tells her what it means. He says it’s loss. Says she misses Peggy. Toni takes those words and holds onto them. She keeps them close to her chest. Because for once she has the  _ word, _ a tangible anchor to grasp. She  _ loves _ having a word for it. Tries to let that joy distract her from the way she feels like she’s standing on the ceiling and falling through the floor. Distract her from the open wound in her chest where Peggy should be. Toni isn’t good with emotions. Never has been. They just don’t  _ make sense _ . Not the way math and engines do. But this one, she at least has a word for it now.

 

~~~~~

Toni is ten now and Howard had only gotten worse. Howard  _ never _ stops. Howard never stops, and Toni is tired. Because Howard has been killing Toni since the day she was built. Has killed Antonia. And Toni  _ wants it to  _ _ stop. _ She wants to be done with the panic attacks that she gets any time she smells whiskey. She wants to be rid of what she’s pretty sure is ADHD she developed from living in constant terror. She has a veritable laundry list of mental problems and she’s so  _ young _ . Some days, she wishes she were dead. Considers it. What it would be like to end it all. But Jarvis would be alone in that house-not-home with Howard’s fists and Maria’s carelessness. Knows she could never do it.

 

Toni has been hiding and surviving under Howard’s fists for years. She has become excellent at pretending and lying. She doesn’t flinch at the cracked ribs when she sits. She laughs when all she wants to do is cry. She plays at being the perfect little Antonia. She hates the feeling of pretending to be this dead girl that might have been. Hates the way it chafes at her soul. But she’s  _ good _ at it. So she plays the part. Toni turns the world into a captive audience and pretends like sudden movements don’t terrify her. She’s excellent and lying after all, especially to herself. 

 

~~~~~

 

Toni Stark is twelve when Howard hits her hard enough it should have killed her. 

Toni feels it, the way the pressure fractures her skull. 

The pain of it being cleaved open. 

Waits to die. 

Because  _ of course, _ he would kill her. Toni’s always known he would be her death. Knew she could only run from his anger for so long. 

 

She had seen it in the cruel gleam in his eye and  _ known _ . 

And. Toni. Is. Terrified. 

And she  _ despises _ it.

She almost hates that fear more than she hates Howard himself. 

She can’t stand feeling weak. But she does.

Because he smacked her into the wall and she should be _ dead _ .

The hit should kill her.

 

It doesn’t.

She has one hell of a headache and bruises all over,  _ but she isn’t dead. _

And she should be, Toni is  _ sure _ . And Toni is never wrong. Not with math at least.

He hit her into the wall with enough force it  _ had to have _ fractured her skull. She should be dead. 

And yet. 

 

Toni’s still breathing somehow. She has been pushed to and beyond her limits and  _ she should be dead.  _ Almost wishes she was.

She hadn’t realized until now just what it meant to be  _ made.  _ To become a god. 

 

It’s her first death, and in the wake of it, she vows to never bow again. She had knelt to Howard and his cruelty and for that, she, like Antonia before her, had died. But Toni, unlike Antonia gets back up. Toni, in between the blood and the pain, promises herself that she would never again let herself obey the whims of anyone but herself. 

 

Toni decides she’s had enough. Because Toni Stark is a goddess and she  _ refuses _ to live in fear any longer. Toni bows to no one and nothing but herself. And she. Has. Had.  **Enough.**

 

The next time Howard comes after her, tries to teach her lessons based in pain and drunken rambling, she fights back. She is  **done** with being weak. She has become more  _ other _ than girl. A wolfish wild thing. Antonia had been weak and scared once. Antonia had died for it. So, Toni, she rips through his flesh with her teeth. Uses her too sharp canines and aims for his throat. She lets the rage that has festered in her soul for years, the resentment for Maria’s neglectance and Howard’s cruelty out and aims it at him. She enacts vengeance for herself. Exacts revenge because no one else will do it for her. She unleashes the terrible wrath of a wronged god.

 

He survives. 

 

~~~~~

 

He doesn’t touch her after that. 

 

He hurls words of abuse at her, cusses her out daily but. He. Doesn’t. Touch. Her.

For that Jarvis is grateful. He isn’t horrified at the sight of blood on  ~~ his daughter’s ~~ Toni’s teeth. He is only grateful that Howard stopped. That she had  _ made _ him stop. He had helped her gain that strength. Watched her learn how to do this. He has always known that Toni is not who she pretends to be. Isn’t quite so human. Until now it hadn’t really sunken in. And maybe it makes him a bad person, but he is glad that Toni is more  _ other _ than human. He isn’t sure he cares about good and bad anymore. Isn’t sure he believes in it anymore. Because once upon a time he believed  _ Howard _ was good. He knows better now.

 

~~~~~

 

Toni Stark is only fifteen years old when she first leaves for MIT. She is lips painted red, and a goddess in her own right, and above it all Toni is  _ lonely. _

Because Science and Math? Those are so easy she could (and has) done them in her sleep.

 

But People? 

 

Toni doesn’t  _ get _ people. Doesn’t understand them. _ They don’t make sense.  _ Not the way algorithms and calculations do. 

 

And they scare her. 

 

Jarvis is left alone in the cold mansion. She hadn’t wanted to leave him, he had insisted. Because try as they might to pretend otherwise in front of Howard, Jarvis is her Papa. Neither has ever said it, they both fear the repercussions of Howard’s anger, but they love each other with the fierce love between father and child. They both know it. Say it silently in every act of love. In band-aids and bedtime stories. Because Toni is fifteen and bedtime stories are the only way to chase off nightmares Howard and Maria still haunt. And this sacrifice is the biggest act of love of all. It’s one Jarvis will never regret.

 

Peggy sends Toni a golden rose. The stem is inscribed with a message so  _ Peggy _ it sends a fresh wave of loss down Toni’s spine. It reads “ _ To remind you that the most beautiful things have thorns.” _ Toni can almost  _ hear _ Peggy’s voice reading it, can almost see the half smile on her face as she hands it to Toni. Jarvis tucks it behind her ear, avoiding letting any thorns dig into her skin. Even she can appreciate the symbolism of  _ him _ being able to avoid the thorns. He gives her a soft smile, tells her he’ll miss her. She darts into his space then gives him a big hug and breaks down in his arms

 

~~~~~

 

It melts Jarvis’s heart when the half-feral child he adopted steps into his space. He is filled with love at the trust she shows when she wraps her arms around his torso. And Jarvis is so, so thankful that this traumatized girl can still trust. He holds her as she falls apart and helps her put the pieces back together. 

 

Jarvis wishes Howard and Maria could have been like this. Had been able to love her. This Wild thing with too much sadness, and wisdom no child should have and a heart so full of love despite it. Wishes Toni could have been happy as Antonia. Toni deserved that much. 

 

But it is a terrible truth of the world. Not all get what they deserve. Too many get what they don’t. The world is harsh and unforgiving. 

 

But Toni is a fighter, and Jarvis won’t let Howard steal that from her. 

So he lets go of her. 

 

~~~~~    

 

Because of course, Jarvis makes Toni go anyway. He helps her pack her bags and find her dorm room (She’s too young to stay in an apartment by herself) and makes sure she remembers to check in with the admin every day. So she grabs her scant few meaningful items, Peggy’s cards, her knives, and slender brass knuckles. Tucks the golden rose into her hair and clasps the pendant Jarvis gave her shaped like a snake around her neck. (To remind her she has  _ fangs _ ) Toni applies a layer of the blood-red lipstick and says goodbye to the only father she’s ever known. Then she turns her back on the house-not-home.

 

She pretends she doesn’t look back. 

 

She’s always been good at lying to herself. 

 

~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna do a bit more work before posting, but I decided  
> Fuck it.  
> So here you go!  
> I'm going to try to post chapters once a week with 1500-2000 words.  
> If I have spare time would you rather I,  
> A. Work on longer chapters or...  
> B. Write one-shots in this 'verse?  
> Comments are my lifeblood so please leave one!
> 
> Rhodey next chapter!


	3. Falling from The Nest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, I know said I was gonna post often and the left you guys high and dry for a month. I'm sorry.  
> This chapter has been fighting me and between that and the fact my computer broke down I haven't been able to work on this as much as I'd like. I wrote all of this on my phone so please excuse any grammatical failures. And with that enjoy!
> 
> TW for near-rape skip from a young man approaches her to No one has ever defended her before

Toni has survived for fifteen years now and it’s her first day at MIT.  
She has a dorm room for herself. It isn’t big, but it isn’t terribly small either. Her space would have been bigger if she hadn’t used the other bedroom as a lab space.

Toni spends most of her first day in her lab. And the second. And the third.  
Classes don’t start for another week, but Jarvis had wanted her to get an idea of the lay of the land and away from Howard.

She fails devastatingly short on that hope though. Toni leaves her room only when it’s an absolute necessity. Toni is fifteen years old and thanks to her Italian genetics she could pass for seventeen. Wherever she goes she attracts attention. If her fame doesn’t attract attention, her body will. Toni hates the attention, the people who stare at her as if they’re undressing her in their minds make her feel icky. She wears three-day-old grime and oil stains like they’re going out of fashion, but it’s leaving her dorm that makes her want to shower.

The other students are all nice enough, the teachers too. Until she shows them that she earned her spot at MIT. Like they had assumed she was just here because daddy-dearest had deep pockets. Toni is young and small and a girl and for some reason, everyone assumed that that makes her quiet, makes her stupid.

Throughout it, all Toni just smiles. She bares her teeth like the wild thing she is and throws of grading curve after grading curve. And if Toni takes some sort of vindictive pleasure in watching her chaos unfold, who could blame her?

~~~~

Toni’s been at MIT for months now and she never leaves her room without looking impeccable. She curls her hair and paints her make-up and wears clothes that flaunt her money. She stinks of wealth and power. Toni walks through campus and people stare. Toni had figured that if they were going to be looking at her anyway, she may as well give them a reason to. It helps, makes her feel as if she has some modicum of control over her life. So yes, Toni never leaves without looking absolutely perfect.

She also never leaves the house without her brass knuckles and at least three knives.

Despite it all, no matter how hard she and Jarvis had tried, after leaving the lecture hall one day, a young man approaches her. He has blond hair and casual clothes on and he pins her against a wall and grabs fist-fulls of her hair. Toni curses because she can’t reach any of her knives, she does manage to slip her hand into the brass knuckles. Just as she was about to punch him, however, he pulls against her hair and her head goes flying into the concrete wall.  
She’s halfway to delirious from what might be a concussion or blood loss, and ready to keep fighting to her death, or worse when another figure steps into the alley. She thinks she’s hallucinating at first, the man that walks towards her, then all she can think is, please don’t hurt me! Toni is amazed when the mysterious person starts attacking her current assailant. No one has ever come to her aid before. Jarvis had tried yes, but they had both feared Howard’s wrath too much for anything like this to have happened.

Toni tries her hardest to disappear into the wall as the brawl starts winding down. The new guy seems to be coming out on top. She braces herself internally for a dude with a hero complex, and is so, so surprised when he walks over to her and asks if she’s okay. He walks her to the campus cafe and gets her some water. He gets himself a cup of the shitty cafe coffee. And then starts to talk to her.

“Hey, I’m James Rhodes. Are you okay, do you need medical?”

Toni laughs, still a little delirious, and replies “Hi Rhoodee” she turns the words around in her mouth and okay, maybe a lot delirious.

“Yeah, you are so not okay.”

“No, noo. I’ll be okaaay in like- an hour.”

“Look at me” he peers at her eyes as she turns her head, trying to focus on him. “You definitely have a concussion.”

“Do you have anyone who can keep an eye on you?”

“I’m fiine! ‘S not like I have any friends anyway!”

This has the opposite effect of what she was hoping for, instead of reassured Rhodes looks, upset?

“I’ll have to keep an eye on you then.” She can almost see it, the exact moment he decides, fuck it I’m gonna take care of this girl. “Let’s get you to my dorm, I don’t know where yours is and you need someone to keep you from sleeping more than an hour at a time.”

~~~~~

When Toni came too, she didn’t know where she was. The comforter was most assuredly not Toni’s. It wasn’t fluffy and the room itself lacked the scent of perfume.

Toni reached for the knife holster on her thigh before she had even realized she’d done it.

And what, what was that sound.

“Lady.”  
“Hey, wake up it’s been like- an hour!”

And then,

“Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead!”

Toni opens her eyes blearily and the first thing that registers is the mystery figure looming above her. Without even taking a moment to consider she has a knife against his throat.

“Woah lady, chill! It’s just me! You know, the guy that found you concussed in an alleyway?” The man exclaimed.

Toni is pretty sure she’s seen him around campus, but she doesn’t know who he is. He has a kind smile and a twinkle in his eye. He has an easy grin and acts like this is the most normal thing in the world, being held at knifepoint by the girl you rescued.

Toni moved the knife away from his throat but doesn’t put it down.

He doesn't so much as pretend like the knife disturbs him.

Toni _smiles_.

~~~~~

James Rhodes shares three classes with her and is sharp as a whip.

Toni’s sure recognized her after his rescue, but he says nothing.

Just like he says nothing about the way her concussion disappeared overnight.

It's one of the reasons she _trusts_ him.

He was Rhodes for a week straight. It's not that Toni isn't grateful, it's just that Howard left more than just surface scars.

She calls him James twice. The first time it felt forgin on her tongue. The second, she spotted him walking around campus and shouted for him, seven dudes responded.

After that she calls him Rhodey.

Even if she blames her concussion for it.

~~~~~

It doesn't go over Toni’s head that he doesn't use her name. He calls her nickname after silly little nickname, but he _never_ calls her Antonia.

She suspects she hadn't hidden her flinch at the name well enough.

Rhodey asks her about it one night.

She's sitting on the roof of the building and recounting the stories of the constellations Jarvis had taught her.

He asks.

All she tells him is the truth, he'd earned that much.

She tells him that Antonia died young and fragile and Toni is what was left of the ashes.

He calls her Toni after that.

She loves him so.

~~~~~

Rhodey has become her best friend and it's about time the media caught on.

They get it all wrong of course, but that's beside the point.

Toni _refuses_ to sneak around with Rhodey, _refuses_ to be ashamed of him. He's one of her favourite people, up with Aunt Peggy and Jarvis, and the media won't ruin that for her.

~~~~~

Toni is drinking shitty coffee from the campus cafe when she sees the first tabloid article.

She tells Rhodey by setting the offending paper on their cafe table and smiling with an amused, and perhaps quietly vicious smirk.

She teases him with a “I didn't know you liked me like that honey bear,” and smiles a rare true smile. It holds to many teeth to be polite, but she's never needed to be anything other than herself with Rhodey.

He laughs hard enough to send coffee flying out his nose.

Toni decides she likes the sound of his happiness and pushes the nicknames to the point of ridiculousness and then some.

Rhodey is still her favorite one though.

She gets Rhodey a framed article of their first “affair”. They laugh about it for days. Toni can't bring herself to care even when Howard sends her an angry call about ‘tarnishing the Stark name’.

She sends him a box filled to the brim with articles from _his_ playboy days.

It's the best pointed fuck you she could imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you guys think I should ship Toni with? I like her with Rhodey, Peper and, Loki.  
> If you have a better idea feel free to comment that too!
> 
> Sorry again for the late chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

This chap glitched out and was re-posted as chapter 5


	5. Some will fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm updating about once a month now!  
> Enjoy this new chapter!

Toni always wakes up screaming.  

 

Toni was  _ born _ screaming and she doesn’t remember a time when the sound of agony didn’t lurk under her tongue and wrap around her soul.

 

She also knows most people don’t. 

 

None of this is out of the ordinary. 

 

Except, well, Toni might've been sowing the seeds of chaos later than she should’ve last night, and Rhodey just might’ve caught her and walked her home. 

 

And guarded the exits to her dorm until she fell asleep. 

 

So Rhodey  _ might _ have fallen asleep on her couch and come running when she woke up screaming.

 

_ Oops.  _

 

The door bursts open and Rhodey walks in.

 

“Sorry to wake you sugar plum,” Toni apologizes. Fortunately, her voice barely quavers. 

 

Unfortunately, this is Rhodey, who knows her oh-so-well and picks up on it.

 

Rhodey, bless him, says nothing, just wraps his arms around her body.

 

She so adores Rhodey. 

 

~~~~~

 

Toni knows.

 She really does okay?

 

Most friendships aren’t like hers and Rhodey’s. 

 

Most friends don’t stay the night to guard the doors so one can sleep. Most friendships aren’t as touchy-feely as hers. Most friends can go out and do things without being harassed and spied on by shark-like reporters.

 

Most friendships aren’t one a girl and one guy.

 

So yeah, Toni knows.

 

She just doesn’t care.

 

People have been telling her what she should and shouldn’t do for as long as she can remember and still longer. 

 

It’s never stopped her.

 

People can say all they like about her, about her friends and about her family. They will talk all the live-long day, but it won’t change a thing. 

 

Toni is called a thousand things, prodigy, genius, naive, slut, and so many more. 

 

Words have no effect on truth, why should they affect her?

 

~~~~~

 

Toni is sixteen and graduating. 

 

Howard isn’t there.

 

Toni finds, for the first time she doesn’t care in the slightest. 

 

Today is  _ her _ day for celebration.

 

Jarvis isn’t there. It hurts, aches really, but the void where he should be is patched up.

 

Aunt Peggy comes, and she feels loved. Rhodey stands by her side, and she suspects he is keeping a protective eye on her.

 

Realy, her honey bear is nowhere as subtle as he thinks he is. 

 

Rhodey’s family comes too because as much as he jokes about never should’ve let Toni meet, (Read: conspire with) his mother, Toni knows he’s glad he could give her a piece of his home.

 

Toni takes her diploma with a prideful smirk, lips painted red, expensive heels (they had been a gift from Jarvis) and more teeth than is typically considered in a smile. She reminds everyone that she can be a deadly predator.

 

~~~~~

 

Rhodey has two more years of college, so Toni decides on staying in her family’s (largely unused) penthouse in-state. 

 

She now has plenty of time for her lab-work.

 

Howard doesn't much care where she is, so long as she keeps sends weapons designs and doesn’t make too many waves. 

 

For the first time in her life, Toni feels free. 

 

She wishes Jarvis were with her though.

 

~~~~~

 

Once after she had finished her work for SI she read an article about a robotics competition.

 

She had been a touch bored anyhow.

 

Toni spent all of her free time working on the bot, Rhodey stepping in now and again to make sure she ate something and slept every once in a while.

 

He even held her when she woke up screaming.

 

This bot was going to be  _ perfect. _

 

~~~~~

 

It took her two nights and three days without sleep to complete the programming. 

 

She ended up so sleep-deprived she couldn’t remember writing half of it.

 

After Toni had woken up from sleeping for 12 hours, she assumed Rhodey had moved her to her bed be because she remembered passing out on her desk, she was ready to bring her child to life.

 

~~~~~

 

Rhodey stands with her as she ceremoniously turns him on for the first time. He stands at her side as always as her son starts aking up.

 

~~~~~

 

“Welcome to the world little one.” are the first words he ever hears because Toni refuses to allow a child of hers to feel unloved for even a second.

 

He beeps happily and roves around in a circle.

 

Had Toni ever bothered to look she would find that moment carefully saved and stored deeply in the heart of his processors. 

 

“So what are you going to name him?” was the ever-important question her platypus posed. 

 

He knew full well that she has had one picked out for ages, but he had a tendency to indulge in her dramatics.

 

She loves him so.

 

Toni turns to address him “Darling, useful machine expansion.”

 

Rhodey blinks, “You named him DUM-E.”

 

At this Toni turns back to her creation, her face mirroring her voice and softening. 

 

“Being underestimated gives you an advantage in life. If you control how people see you, you can use it against them.” She quoted.

 

It was one of Jarvis’ most consistent refrains.

 

It was also a rule Toni lived by.

 

~~~~~

 

Toni being Toni had finished Dum-E two weeks before the competition and spent two days modifying the apartment for robotic access.

 

Dum-E followed her around the whole time.

 

He was made to expand his knowledge and learn like a human.

 

Toni adores her son.

 

Rhodey tries to deny it, but he dotes on her boy just as much as she does.

 

~~~~~

 

Two weeks fly by with Dum-E learning more every day. 

 

The judges laugh at her, right up until Toni unleashes her son upon the challenges.

 

Not only do they win, but Toni is also pretty certain her boy demolished a couple of records in the process. 

 

He takes after his mother with the controversy that follows him.

 

~~~~~

 

People are clamoring for pictures and interviews, but Toni refuses to allow her son to grow up the same way she did.

 

Most believe he was cast aside as junk metal after they won.

 

Most also refer to him as it though.

 

As if Toni could hurt her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My current planned ship will be Rhodey/ Toni however, I'm not married to the idea if you have other ship ideas!
> 
> Hold on tight because this fic is about to go crazy!


	6. Or they will fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm back with the next chapter. This chapter is the last of the abuse heavy ones, keep yourselves safe! Hope you enjoy!

Toni is eighteen when her world comes crashing down.

She hadn’t expected calmness for even this long really. 

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. 

Rhodey has graduated, and he planned to enlist in the air force. In another world, Toni might’ve joined him. 

Here and now though? As far away as she is, Toni is still trapped under Howard’s thumb.

So Rhodey leaves and she is left alone once more.

If Toni can't go with him, she can keep him safe.

Toni disappears into her workshop, she spits out weapons and armor as fast as she can.

Her honey bear will be as safe as she can make him.

They call each other regularly, talking about anything and everything.

It helps, some and Toni isn't happy, per say, but she's, content. Which is more than she ever expected.

~~~~~

Until. Until Howard calls her home for the holiday season.

He’s drunk and angry and for the first time since Toni was strong enough to oppose him, he hits her. She freezes, unnaturally still and watches him. His wedding ring caught her across the cheek and she licks the blood as it drips down, the only movement in her otherwise statuesque posture. Like tears of blood, the only way she’ll ever cry in front of Howard is like this.

In that moment Toni is set free. 

She has had enough and this discretion is the last straw. 

Her knives are still tucked into her outfit, and she doesn’t reach for them. 

Maybe, had Howard has his way with her, if she had been left to Maria’s cruel indifference, this would be a different fairy tale. Like those with the brothers grimm, full of the broken shards in her heart and heavy with violence. Instead Toni smiles a slow, dangerous smirk with too many teeth and speaks just one word, full of restrained anger.

“Goodbye.”

That night Howard and Maria die. A tragic car accident due to a drunken man insisting on driving. 

Toni would never let Jarvis in the way of harm. 

She is so fucking happy Howard is dead, that she killed him. She is indifferent to Maria’s death, while Toni hadn’t meant to kill her she also hadn’t stopped her either. Maria had seen Howard hit her, and still chose to get in the car. 

The police found nothing suspicious about the car, blaming it on Howard’s alcoholic driving. Toni does know mechanics, it’s in her blood and brain. 

And Toni plays the part of grieving heir perfectly.

No one even suspects that she changed the will. It was sealed in a Stark vault and she is small and weak and a girl. 

~~~~~

Rhodey calls her, the second he hears and is given leave, the air force is simply trying to earn favor with the young heir, but Rhodey doesn’t really care why, so long as he gets there. 

He knows she killed them and is proud. Maybe he shouldn’t be. Maybe that makes him a bad person, but he doesn’t much care.

Rhodey had seen Toni’s scars, he’s heald er when she woke up screaming and he feels only pride that she had finally done it.

Twenty-four hours to the second after Howard’s death, Jarvis and Rhodey are drinking tea with Toni and she starts glowing, then screaming. 

~~~~~

Toni had been drinking tea with her boys when it hit. 

Power that had been little more than a trickle of godly power all of her live suddenly became a rushing river and Toni fought against being carried away by it.

A test. Toni is sure of it. A way to ensure the streath of mind for a god. 

By killing Howard Toni had removed her biggest obstacle. 

Not even Peggy had achieved power like this. 

No one had passed this test since the days of the olde gods.

And Toni revealed in her power 

~~~~~

The funeral was a three ring circus. 

Press surrounded the outer layer, flocking to Toni in droves. 

She had worn wide-rimmed sunglasses to hide her dry eyes. 

People who Toni had never met have condolences and many sought the favour of the younger Stark.

After the funeral she sits in her childhood room with her loyal knight’s arms tight around her and laughs.

~~~~~

After the funeral Rhodey holds his queen in his arms and quietly swears his loyalty to her.

He promises her everything he is.

His beautiful queen takes his hand and tells him of her plans.

Toni stark is going to reshape the world.

She is a futurist and she plans to drag the earth kicking and screaming into a new era.

~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo I'm on Tumblr too https://www.tumblr.com/blog/halloweeneva
> 
> Come yell at me, ask about head canons or share your own!
> 
> Also if anyone can/ wants to beta this fic please hit me up on Tumblr!


	7. Nature is the cruelest beauty of them all

Toni Stark is nineteen and her parents are dead.

She still wakes up screaming, still dresses immaculately, still smiles with too many teeth to be polite, but Toni throws away her concealer, the one she only ever used to cover up her bruises, she lives without fear and works when she pleases.

Toni has two years before she is set to inherit her birthright and she uses them to build her empire. She is broken and bloody and small and a girl, but Toni is also a _goddess_ and she'll be damned if she doesn't carve her name into the history books, right over her father's.

Tony Stark is going to destroy Howard so thoroughly he won't even live as a memory in any context other than the guy that sired **Toni Stark.**

Toni is a goddess and she has no mercy for those that would wrong her.

Toni stands at the fore-front of invention, re-writing the rules as she pleases, her loyal knight by her side and her father at her back, she conquers all that dare defy her. Toni collects military contracts like party invitations and takes to wearing blood-red clothes lined with gold, the color of god's blood, her blood.

Toni serves herself and no other. She bows for no-one and takes what she wants. Socialites and politicians alike bow before her, each hoping to earn her favor.

This is why Toni is shocked at the young woman when she demands Toni's attention. Toni had more or less forgotten about her accounting test at that point, it was meant as a bit of fun nothing more.

The woman, who introduces herself as Virginia Potts had pepper-sprayed Toniś bodyguards in her bid to fix the error. She blatantly disrespects Toni, pointing out the error when Potts knew Toni had last say over the budget. Potts called Toni stupid when an error like that could have cost the company billions.

Toni listens, bemused to the rant and after the other woman winds down, asked her why she hadn't simply reported the err to her superiors. Potts, frustrated replies that she HAD and they had refused to even suggest that Toni Stark could make an accounting error. Potts was fully counting on being fired too, Toni could see it in her eyes. It was interesting, a woman who was willing to lose her job to save the company from a mistake.

Toni hired her on the spot.

Toni also nicknamed her Pepper, because she's Toni and the woman had pepper-sprayed her bodyguards, surely she didn't think she'd get off scot-free.

Pepper _fit_. She bonded with Rhodey, and laughed with Jarvis. Pepper even manned to charm Peggy. Toni suspects she's unleashed a monster, a terrifying, beautiful monster. If Rhodey is her shield and her guardian, Pepper is her sword, her warrior. Pepper is sharp and deadly and she makes everything she does look effortless. Jabbing and parrying and vicious rounds of verbal sparring. Pepper won't take any of Toni ́s bullshit, and Toni is never letting her go.

~~~~~

Pepper starts flirting with one of her bodyguards a few months after she clicked in with Toni. The one Toni nicknamed Happy.

Toni doesn't click with Happy the same way she Pep and Rhodey did, but he makes Pepper happy (Ha! Puns!) and Toni likes it when Pepper smiles so Toni pulls him into her orbit.

If Toni is the sun, Rhodey and Pepper are her planets, and Happy is Pepper’s moon. Pepper somehow gets everyone to team up against Toni when she goes on Science! Benders for more than 48 hours.

Toni can’t bring herself to mind.

~~~~~

It all changes, and none of it does when Toni is 20.

When Pepper, was on Toni-sitting duty late into 36 hours in, she sees Toni drink one of Dum-E’s smoothies. (In Toni’s defense, she WAS sleep-deprived.) Immediately after which, Toni collapsed.

Pepper called Rhodey in a panic. He had clearly just been asleep but managed to achieve something similar to awareness after hearing Pepper freak out. Pepper as a general rule does not do freaked out.

Rhodey, being the absolute angel that he is, asked Pepper to identify what was in the smoothie. Which as far as Pepper could tell included raw cabbage, motor oil, and antifreeze. His advice was simply to let her sleep it off, citing that antifreeze wasn’t too poisonous and assuring her that it should only knock her out for 2-3 hours.

He didn’t realize, or more accurately forgot in his drowsy state, that Pep wasn’t aware of Toni’s… _allergy_ to death.

Pepper took the news remarkably well, mostly just relieved that she wouldn’t have to go on trial for murdering her boss. And If Pepper had a bit of a break-down in the storage closet later, the girl was only human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive any errors, my computer is stuck with an international keyboard at the moment and all apostrophes had to be copy-pated in!
> 
> Sorry for not updating last month, school's been demanding all of my time!
> 
> I'm planning on writing a one-shot surrounding Werewolf!Bruce and Supernatural!Avengers so keep an eye out if that sounds interesting to you.
> 
> Feel free to check me out on Tumblr at halloweeneva to hang out or ask me about my headcanons!


	8. Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead and sorry for going dark!

Hey all,  
It's been too long and I'm so sorry.   
This project has fallen to the wayside recently but rest assured it is NOT forgotten!  
This is also NOT a discontinued notice.  
I am actively trying to work on this but life has been hectic lately.  
It's just been one thing after the other, from finals to getting ready to move.  
I am however hoping to get another chapter sooner rather than later although it will probably be shorter than I usually do!  
Once again, I'm sorry but hope to see you soon with some real content!

If you want updates or maybe even quick snippets of writing prompts, mosey on down to my tumblr and say hello!   
https://halloweeneva.tumblr.com/


	9. The Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone, I'm back!   
> I re-read the fic to figure out where I left off and got slapped with the inspiration stick. 
> 
> So here enjoy this chapter! It might be my favorite to date!
> 
> TW for self-harm. It's only two sentences and it's for a magic thing but if you think it might trigger you, skip from "Now it would once more rest in the rightful hands." to "And then the wound healed, zipping itself shut as though it had never been." 
> 
> Stay safe lovelies!

In the week before her 21st birthday, Toni Stark is very busy.

It _i_ _ s _  almost her coronation.

 

Sure that’s not what everyone says when they talk about her birthday but it’s what they mean.

 

She is the heiress to the throne after all. 

And in a week Toni will be a princess no longer.

 

She will be a _queen_

 

And her reign will be a wonderful, terrible thing.

 

~~~~~

 

Toni will take over her company the day of her birthday but during the night before, she will be crowned.

 

The ceremony starts at exactly midnight, the same hour she was born. 

 

They are gathered in the courtyard of Toni’s childhood home, surrounded by walls on all sides to prevent any unwanted witnesses to this precious ritual. 

 

Jarvis stands at the altar, he will be their priest for he was her first  family member,  disciple. 

 

Rhodey stands as always at her side, loyal to the last. 

 

Pepper stands as their only witness. In her arms, she carries a crown and a sword. 

 

Toni was dressed in a simple red dress, and her hair was down and free somehow managing to look at once both regal and chaotic. 

 

With no light save for the soft moonlight, Jarvis began. 

 

Pepper handed Toni the sword. 

 

It was made of gold but was lighter and stronger than it should have been. Runes were engraved on it in a foreign language, but it did not matter because Toni would recognize those words with her eyes closed.

 

Cedo nulli.

 

I yield to no one.

 

It had once belonged to her kin.

 

Now it would once more rest in the rightful hands. 

 

Toni raised the sword and sliced it across her forearm. The cut was long but not deep and it bleed quite a bit. 

 

The whole night seemed to hold it’s breath as the deep red blood slowly lightened and turned gold in color, the ichor of the gods running through her veins. 

 

And then the wound healed, zipping itself shut as though it had never been. 

 

Jarvis stopped chanting.

 

Pepper walked up to Toni and set the crown onto her head. 

 

As soon as the light gold crown, inlaid with deep blood red jewels rested on Toni’s head, they all bowed low. 

 

Rhodey was the first to stand, going to kneel in front of Toni and swear his fealty to her, the same way he had the night her father died. 

 

Pepper was next, and she swore her life to Toni without a trace of fear nor regret on her face.

 

And finally, Jarvis rose. 

 

He walked over to Toni, the only father she had ever known, and he bowed. 

 

He took her hand to his lips courteously, and then in a low voice murmured to her,  “Mistress Peggy is sorry she couldn’t make it, but she instructed me to give this to you.”

 

Jarvis handed Toni a small silver compass.

 

The note on it read, 

_ Happy Birthday, Birdy, I wanted you to have this. It once belonged to my love, Steve as you might recall. It has served me well for years, but now I think it would do you well.  _

 

_ P.s. The needle always points to home. _

 

And the Toni laughed.

 

 It was a loud, wild, thing, so very at odds with the stillness of the night. 

 

But Toni was going to either laugh or cry, and it was not a night for sadness.

 

That night Toni fell asleep to the sounds of her family all around her and was content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come hang out, chat about my stuff, or give me prompts or headcanon requests at my Tumblr!  
> https://halloweeneva.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think?  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated and if you have any idea where this is going, leave a comment and it will almost certainly be used.


End file.
